Let me share a story with you
that will introduce the topic of this editorial.
There once was a slave named
Androcles who escaped from his master and fled into the
forest. As he was wandering about he came upon a lion
lying down moaning and groaning. At first he turned to
run away, but when he noticed that the lion did not
chase him, he turned back and went up to the mighty
beast. As Androcles came near, the lion put out his paw,
which was all swollen and bleeding. When he looked at
the paw he saw a huge thorn which was stuck in it
causing all the pain. Androcles pulled out the thorn and
bound up the paw of the lion who was soon able to rise
and lick the hand of Androcles like a dog. The lion then
took Androcles to his cave and every day brought him
meat on which to survive. Shortly afterwards, both
Androcles and the lion were captured and the slave was
sentenced to be thrown to the lion which had been kept
without food for several days. The Emperor and his
people came to see the spectacle. Androcles was led out
into the middle of the arena. Soon the lion was released
from his den and rushed bounding and roaring towards his
victim. But as soon as the lion came near to Androcles,
he recognized his friend and fawned upon him, licking
his hands like a friendly dog. When the Emperor was told
the whole story, Androcles was set free and the lion let
loose to return to his native forest.
This story has a great deal of
significance for us today. Even though there appears to
be much prosperity and wealth in the world today, when
we look closely at the situation, we see a completely
different picture. There are hundreds of people living
in Valley East who are living in poverty, and like the
lion in the story, are reaching out for help of any kind
to pull them out of this desolation. There are also many
businesses in Valley East which are struggling to
survive in these uncertain economic times. With a
recession on the horizon and decreasing sales figures, a
lot of local businesses have been forced to reduce staff
and cut back drastically in all areas in order to keep
their doors open in hope of a better future just around
the corner. It is not certain how long they can hang on
and they too are reaching out for help to pull them out
of despair. Finally, the rest of us find ourselves in
the enviable position of having good jobs and steady
income, but yet, we too are finding that skyrocketing
costs are eating up much of our money, forcing us to cut
back on spending and search for cost-saving
alternatives. We too are reaching out for help.
In the story, Androcles had
just escaped and was wandering the forest without any
food, knowing that his freedom could disappear at any
time, meaning certain disaster. The lion was hurt and
needed someone to help him take away his pain so that he
could once again walk the forest with confidence. It was
Androcles who made the first move to save the lion. Once
the lion recovered, it was the lion’s turn to help out
Androcles. And in the stadium, the bond between the lion
and Androcles stood the ultimate test, resulting in both
earning their freedom.
Valley East has a lot in common
with the story about the lion and Androcles. Our
community is all about businesses and consumers living
in harmony in a circle of support. The businesses of
Valley East are not looking for customers from Sudbury
or the surrounding towns. They are here to provide goods
and services to the residents who live in Valley East.
Consumers who shop locally help
keep the businesses viable and healthy by increasing
their sales. As businesses increase their sales,
it enables them to expand and put more people to
work.
By reaching out to help each
other - that is with residents who are willing to
support local businesses and with businesses who are
willing to provide local residents with good value for
the goods and services purchases - we will all benefit
from the power of this Community Circle of Support and
move forward into a brighter future with the confidence
that we are all in this together.
Until
the next time....
